


After all, what does love mean if you can't trust

by Littlebarchie07



Series: I don’t want you like a best friend [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, Emotional Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Protective Archie Andrews, archie is a soft bean, betty is not fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29869134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlebarchie07/pseuds/Littlebarchie07
Summary: Betty has been pushing her trauma aside since being back in Riverdale. She suffers a moment of panic, but Archie is there to reassure her that everything will be alright. post time jump. Slight AU
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper
Series: I don’t want you like a best friend [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188512
Comments: 5
Kudos: 55





	After all, what does love mean if you can't trust

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to another instalment of the post time jump barchie escapades. I haven't actually gone into the possible PTSD of Betty’s character because I don't want to misrepresent it (also totally understand that Archie is most likely suffering with some trauma too) but this is Betty focused, so without further ado, let’s get into some Barchie comfortiness. Archie is a soft boy in this and I absolute love writing him like this 🥰

Betty was honestly _fine,_ and that was exactly what she told her mandatory therapist over the phone after the therapist had called her repeatedly for two days. 

She hadn’t had a chance to inform the therapy office that she was no longer in Quantico, and she had missed her last three sessions. The therapist was _concerned_.

Betty didn't realise how much time she would spend back home, and she had much more pressing issues to deal with than her own messed up mind.

“I am putting a break on therapy. I’ve got some business that I need to address, here at home, in Riverdale.” Betty said. The mention of Riverdale was a red flag.

“Have you had any nightmares since being back in Riverdale?” Her therapist had asked.

“No everything is fine. I have everything under control.” Betty confirmed. 

She did have everything under control. 

She had distractions. 

She had her mom, the twins, Polly.

Polly, who was still in fact missing.

After the lead to the swamp, she had focused more of her effort into figuring out what exactly could have happened to her sister.

However each lead she got seemingly trailed off, cold and she was refusing to give up, and give in to the panic and fear of what may have happened.

So as a distraction from worrying about where or what might have actually happened to Polly, and in between taking care of her mom and spending time with Juniper and Dagwood l, she was spending more and more time with Archie.

It was so nice to have fallen back into their friendship so effortlessly. Of course, it had been all too easy to fall into his bed. A consequence of years of built up sexual tension, frustration, lust and the lingering feelings of love.

She would _always_ love Archie, but the thing that they were doing right now, I was just “helping each other” out. After all, that was what best friends did.

“If I have any nightmares, I’ll be sure to make an appointment, but for now, I’m doing just fine.” 

And really, Betty thought as she hung up the phone, she was absolutely _fine_. 

***

“I want you to locate the pistons, identify where exactly they sit in the engine. First person to explain to me what they do can leave shop class five minutes early.” Betty said, hands on her overalls as she looked over the students. They all held blank expressions on their face. Britta raised her hand. 

Betty pursed her lips, suppressing a smile. “Britta?”

“They compress the air and fuel, creating a rotary motion which is transferred to the tires by the transmission via the driveshaft. It’s what makes them spin.”

Betty’s eyebrows shot up, and the smile turned into a full on grin. “Well done Britta. I’m impressed. Everyone else, I want you to read chapter 3 of the handbook I gave out on Monday. I want you to brush up on the seven main parts of the engine for a pop quiz next week.”

The students groaned, rolling their eyes and whispering amongst themselves. The shrill bell signalling the end of class made Betty jump slightly. “Okay, everyone put your oiled overalls in the trash bag by the door please!” Betty shouted as everyone scrambled to pull off their shop clothes and rush to grab their bags. Everyone lined up to pile their clothes into the trash bag. Every time the bag rustled as people handled it, Betty couldn’t help but flinch.

Just as the remaining students filed out of the room, Betty’s eyes grew wide. Swallowing hard, she blinked. A brief shadow caught her eye, and when she blinked again a masked assailant came into focus.

Panic started building inside her, and her chest grew tight. The bell rang out again, a last warning for remaining students to make it to their next classes, but Betty couldn’t hear it above the sound of her heart thumping against her ribs. 

She inched backwards, unable to move her eyes from the open doorway. Her breath shuddered and she whipped her head back round at the sound of her own feet scuttling against the tile. As as her eyes met the doorway again, the halls were empty. 

Her heart was still racing as her phone vibrated in her pocket.

_Fucking Therapist Bitch._

Betty’s mind screamed, as she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the tightness in her chest. She wouldn’t be thinking about anything if she hadn't been ambushed this morning by that stupid woman.

Taking another deep breath, she tried to steady herself. Her hands were shaking so much, she almost lost her grip on her phone as she pulled it out from her pocket. She had a text from Archie, asking her if she was still up for meeting him after school.

The tightness started to ease as she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth a couple of times. She tried to focus her mind, counting to 10 and back down to 1.

One last breath out, Betty typed back a reply.

_I’ll meet you in the student lounge a little after 3._

She sent the text and left the room, trying to push away the dark cloud that lingered over her as she took a hesitant step into the deserted hallway.

***

Betty felt _wired_. She couldn’t settle, she felt nervous and jittery and for some reason every single sound made her jump. She was counting down the minutes until 3 when she could meet Archie and get the hell out of Riverdale High.

Thinking of Archie, she remembered how he had brushed past her in the hallway just after lunch, his hand settling on her lower back and she had jumped back so quickly, Archie let out a low laugh. 

“Easy Betts.” He whispered into her ear before smirking and walking away. Just yesterday, that would have excited her, but she spent the next few minutes trying to recover from a racing heart. 

She had finally pulled herself together as the day drew to a finish. She was changing her top in the bathroom room, throwing her dirty overalls into her oversized bag. She took a look at herself in the mirror, pale and washed out.

She splashed some water onto her face, taking one last look at herself before she walked out of the door and into the teachers lounge.

Betty sighed with relief as she entered the room, Archie was laughing at something Toni was sayings 

“Betty!” Toni exclaimed as she moved beside them. “I hear your class has a pop quiz. You’re a natural at this teaching business.”

Betty smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I try.” 

Toni looked between her and Archie before smiling and patting her bump.

“Right I’m off, can you lock up when you leave Archie?” Toni asked, tossing a set of keys to him. 

“Course. See you tomorrow Toni.”

“Bye!” Betty waved and watched Toni leave with one last look.

Archie pulled Betty by her arm, planting a kiss on her lips. 

“Well Ms Cooper, you ready to leave?”

Betty pressed her lips firmly against his, her stomach settling and the heaviness in her head finally lifting. 

“Just give me a sec, I need to grab something from the office. Stay here.” She said, her eyes fluttering.

She walked into the back room, and Archie checked his watch. “Betts, I’m just going to go to the bathroom.” He raised his voice a little, unsure if Betty heard him. He didn’t wait for a response and left the room quickly. 

“Right, let’s get…” Betty walked out of the office, her bag over her shoulder, one earphone dangling against her neck.

She froze as she came into the room. It was empty.

The air grew tight around her, and she took a deep breath, as she twisted herself left and right, looking for any sign of him. 

“Archie?” She called out, her voice sounded small, and barely above a whisper.

There was nothing but silence around her. She tried to swallow, but it was as if she were wearing a turtle neck that was too tight. She couldn’t breathe. 

“Archie?” She shouted again, her voice a little louder this time, but there was still no response. A small whimper sounded from her throat, her heart beginning to beat faster. She started to count her breaths, trying to ease the panting. The impending wave of panic and dread was closing in on her.

She had only turned her back for a second.

_A second too long._

She started pacing, her mind racing. _Where is he?_

Meanwhile, Archie exited the bathroom, and headed back to the teachers longue, he rounded the corner with a smile on his face, as he wiped his hands on his jeans.

He came to a halt and his face dropped as he saw Betty, twisted in a strange way, eyes wide and panicked. Her breathing was heavy.

Immediately, he looked around the room, checking the windows.

“Betty, what is it, what’s wrong?” He questioned, his brow furrowing.

At first, Archie wasn’t sure Betty heard him, but she turned quickly as his trainers squeaked against the floor, and then she threw herself at him.

“Arch!” She cried, she hit into him with such an unexpected force, that he stumbled slightly. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

She started to babble. “I- I- thought, I didn’t-” She clung onto him, mumbling into his shoulder. “You were gone.” She finally whispered.

Archie’s brow arched, as he rubbed her back, taking in her laboured breaths. “Hey, it’s okay. I just went to the bathroom. I did say, I guess you didn’t hear me.” He said quietly, pulling back to look at her.

Her eyes were wide and glazed as she raised her head to look at him. A sob escaped her, and she buried her face back into his shirt.

Archie pulled back again, forcing her to look at him. “Okay, what’s going on Betty?” He asked, his hands coming up to cup her face. The concern heavy in his tone.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. “It’s nothing.” She wiped her eyes, brushing his hands away. “I’m fine. Come on, let’s go.”

She moved to walk away, but Archie grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“Betty.” He said, his voice low.

She closed her eyes and didn’t speak for a minute. She took another breath, her breathing seemingly slower. 

“I have panic attacks sometimes, okay but it’s nothing.” She replied flippantly.

Archie frowned. “This - this is not nothing, Betty. What's going on, why haven’t you told me any of this?”

“Because I’m fine!” She snapped, her brow crossed.

Archie stepped away from her, his eyes never leaving hers. They both stared at each other, the air tense.

She dropped her guard, shoulders slumped.

“Fine, I’m not exactly - there’s just, I have a lot of stuff I'm dealing with.” She mumbled.

Archie’s eyes relaxed. “I get it Betts. You’ve been through a lot. But.. you don’t have to shut me out you know" He shrugged his shoulders. "You can trust me.”

He tugged her jacket lightly, and she moved forward, accepting his arms as her own came around his back. She sighed with relief, being in his arms always felt like home.

“I know. You’re about the only people I can trust.” She mumbled into his shoulder.

Archie smiled into her hair.

“Well I’m not going anywhere.” He pulled back, brushing her curls from her face. “But you need to start being honest with me." He gazed at her intensely. "How often do you have these panic attacks?” 

“You sound like my therapist.” She bit back, rolling her eyes, but Archie didn’t laugh. His eyes were set and his jaw tight. She chewed her lip, averting her gaze from his, trying to find the words.

“This is the first one I’ve had since I’ve been back here.” She answered truthfully.

“Okay?” Archie questioned, he didn’t need to follow it on, she knew he wanted answers. 

She sighed heavily. She hadn't really been open with anyone about what had happened to her before. Not even her mom. Eyes downcast, she opened her mouth.

“Arch, something happened back in Quantico." She looked up quickly, his eyes were on her, and she looked away. "I - a case I was working on. I got a little ahead of myself. We were tracking a serial killer.” She felt Archie tense up, his hands fell to her hips, and she could feel his fingers tighten their grip on her. “He was dangerous, and me being me, I tried to be the Nancy Drew of it all, and it back fired." She watched Archie slowly, his adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

"I sort of ended up in a ditch.” She watched as his face paled. “I was held captive by this bastard for about a week, but this ditch… I wasn’t exactly alone.” She paused, trying to find the words. “It was full of trash bags.”

Archie let out a shaky breath, his brain registering her words. “The trash bags…” he muttered. 

She nodded. “They were his victims. Dead bodies. About 7 or 8 of them...” She whispered. The air was silent around them. She dared look up at him, so her eyes found a spec of dust in the corner of the room. His hand gently moved up her arm, and he bought her face up to look at him. His eyes were wide, pain and hurt shining behind the hazel orbs. She felt her lip tremble, and then a sob escaped her throat. Her eyes started to stream, and then she couldn’t stop. She felt her entire weight fall against him as he cradled her in his arms.

"Betty..." He whispered, tenderly kissing her hair, holding her close. He let her cry. She hadn't cried in so long, she refused to be beaten down by the memories.

She had tried everything to push them away, but it didn’t matter, it would always find its way back to the surface, and she knew this. She knew what holding onto her pain did to her, but she hated being weak.

She didn’t know how long she cried for, at one point she felt like she was never going to stop. The sobs wrecked her body, causing her to convulse, and Archie stayed still, his arms wrapped around her tightly. He didn’t speak, only whispering ‘it’s okay, I’m here’ into her hair a couple of times. Although she hated being this vulnerable, especially in front of Archie, she was grateful for his embrace, grateful for his presence.

She sniffed, hard, her eyes puffy and wet. His grey sweatshirt was soaked with a pool of salty tears. She pulled away from him and tugged at the wet spot, letting out a groan.

“Urgh. I am so sorry.” She wiped her thumbs under her red eyes. 

Archie took hold of her hand, bringing her thumb up to his lips. He pressed a tender kiss there.

“Don’t ever apologise.” He said with sincerity. “You have nothing to apologise for, you hear me?”

A weak smile pulled at her lips, before she bought her hands up to cover her face. “I’m a mess.”

Archie chuckled. “Aren’t we all?”

She shot him a look, but the thin smile widened. “Can we just get out of here?”

Archie nodded, pulling her towards him again. “Of course. I can swing by Pops, get take out, and we can go back to mine. How does that sound?”

Betty nodded her head slowly. “Milkshake?”

Archie wrapped his arm around her shoulder, kissing the side of her head. 

“Duh.” He smiled down at her, tenderness shining in his eyes.

Betty’s stomach flipped. She swallowed, averting her gaze and leading the way out of the door.   
  
Archie turned off the light into the teachers lounge, and his hand found its way into Betty’s. Their fingers interlocking.

She squeezed and smiled up at him. They walked down the halls in silence, and Betty’s mind flashed back to her years at Riverdale High. So much had happened between and beyond these walls and it was so strange that she was back here now. It was even stranger that she was walking the halls hand in hand with Archie Andrews. 

“What are you thinking about?” Archie hummed, bumping his shoulder into hers, as if he knew she was thinking about him.

“Just this place. It’s strange being back here, but, it’s nice to be here with you.” 

“I’m glad you came back, Betty.” 

“Of course, Arch. Anytime.”

They had made their way to the end of the hall, and reached the double doors leading outside.

Betty started towards the exit, but Archie stopped and pulled her back.

”Arch - what” she was cut off by his hands cupping her face, drawing her into him. His lips touched hers so softly.

Her eyes fluttered against his cheek, and he pulled back slowly, his mouth stretching into a grin. 

Betty frowned, her eyes dazed. “What was that?” 

“Just wanted to make sure you leave the school day on a good note.” 

“Okay smooth operator.” She let out a laugh, and a goofy grin replaced his smile.

He started shaking his head, before he opened his mouth and started to sing. 

“No need to ask  
He's a smooth operator

Smooth operator.

Smooth operator

Smooth operator”

Betty’s hands came up to her face as she laughed. “Oh god stop it!” 

He pouted, turning off the remaining lights and opening the door and letting the crisp air filter in. The sky was a pale pink hue, the sun descending behind the clouds.

“I thought you loved my singing.”

He pulled the doors closed, and twisted the key in the lock.

Once he pocketed the keys, he automatically held his hand out for her. She took it without hesitation, falling into step with him. 

“Do you still play?” She asked. 

Archie nodded. “A little bit, here and there. I haven’t have much time to play over the last few years but, it’s something I won’t forget.”

Betty chewed her lip, her thoughts drifting to the song he wrote for her. The song she had only ever heard Veronica sing all the way through.

Heart racing, she peered up at him. “Do you still remember the song you wrote...”

He let out a little laugh knowing what she was talking about. “Of course I remember your song Betts. I’d still love to play it for you.” 

_her song._

Betty nodded, squeezing his hand. “I’d really like to hear it.”

The smile widened on Archie’s face. “Yeah?” 

“Maybe tonight?” 

“Okay.” He pulled her into him, he slung his arm over her shoulders, and her own came around his back. “But after Pops. I really really want a milkshake.” He said, grinning down at her as she rolled her eyes. 

“Just like old times.” 

Archie bent down and captured her lips. “Just like old times, but better.” 

_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the longest one shot I’ve written, and I wanna thank season1 for suggesting the idea of a comfort fic. I hope, if you read this, it lives up to your expectations.
> 
> And for everyone else, I hope you enjoy! Comments and kudos are much appreciated!


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